My bumpy ride on learning how to bake the perfect bread.....

As I my plans to open a Cafe becoming more and more real I have started thinking about the menu. So I thought to myself: "what Cafe is without sandwiches and what sandwiches are without nice bread?". At that time I have decided to learn how to bake the bread. Yes, I can bake cakes, but to bake bread is the whole new game. The only bread baking I have done in the past is by bread making machine. Should this count? I actually don't like machine bread anymore as it always comes out square shaped and taste like any other bread. I like the rustic look and that's what I want to achieve with my sandwiches as well.  So firstly I checked out few courses and I did find them super expensive (this is probably why I have no formal training on cooking or baking). However I came across this blog where the blogger (Maria) offers courses at her own house and that's definitely cheaper! Anyhow I have bought loads of book for bread baking as I could not wait for my next lesson. As I really got bored with basic bread (probably because of the baking machine I have) I went for this Hungarian potato bread recipe (picture above). Sounds amazing, but sooo messy. You see, the dough was so sticky that I kept adding flour which did not help much. Also, I started in the evening and I did not realize that this would take me 4 hours! I thought I would leave it to rise (from yeast) overnight, but then the book warned that it may over-rise if I leave it for more than two hours so I got stuck with it for a night (I kept alarm clock so I could wake up to do another step for the bread cycle). I also got really sick as I have this really bad habit to taste everything I cook or bake so I did the same with the bread dough (I know, I know really bad, but I have done it with the cake dough and I was fine). And they say that it is unhealthy to eat warm bread, but this must have been worst! Eventually I got the result, which was not too bad, only that the crust was super thick and a little bit burned. Never mind I will get it improved! It is only my first time and nobody can judge me for the bumpy start! Therefore I am not giving away the recipe until I am super confident about it. For now I will give a recipe for the sandwich that I made with that bread. I must say I have enjoyed and was proudly eating during the lunch time. It was so good that I forgot to eat my soup that I usually eat with the sandwich!  

 

PARMA HAM, FIG & MOZZARELLA SANDWICH

Ingredients: small bunch rocket salad

                    3 ripe figs (cut in quarters)     

                    175g mozzarella cheese (thorn into pieces)

                    3 slices Parma ham (thorn into smaller pieces)
                    1tbsp honey
                    1tbsp lemon juice
                    fresh ground black pepper
                    butter for spreading
                    4-6 bread slices (or more, it all depends on how much of sandwich filler you put on one slice)

1. combine all the ingredients except the bread and butter
2. Butter the bread slices (very important as butter stops sandwich from becoming soggy)
3. Apply Sandwich filler! The end ;)

Busy busy lives!

As I mentioned in my previous posts I do like to read the "stylist" magazine occasionally (only if I can get hold of it!).  Well... I don't read it inside out, but I quickly flick it through and sometimes I stop at the "work life" page (obviously after observing "gourmet-on-the-go" page). I don't know why this attracts me, but I do look forward to it every time. This page is about woman's diary (each time different woman with different occupation) who talks about her interesting job or business she has opened etc. I find especially intresting when they talk about business start ups and how they got successful.... and every time I read, I imagine that one day my picture (and my diary) will be displayed there. This is of course just a dream, but I always wanted to start my own business...
This time the article is about "CEO" Sarah Walter (picture above), but the other interesting ones to mention are about "the Flower Girl" Gemma Blaskey who opened a flower shop or Jennifer Irvine who launched dieting and convenience food service called "The Pure Package". I find them all inspiring and when I read their diaries I imagine what my diary would look like when I open a Cafe.... However there is one thing I find common in all the diaries: they wake up at 5am-6pm and go to sleep at 11pm-12pm.... I know that starting own business is a lot of work and sometimes can mean no lunch break (ouch!), but I kind of feel a little envy when people can survive on 5-6 hours sleep! Can you imagine how much more I could get done if I had more hours in the day! I always plan to do a lot and often get disappointed when I don't reach those goals (they are usually reaaally high! Or do I just spend too much time on day dreaming?). Never mind, but when I am depressed and when I have a sweet-tooth craving (it gets super strong when I am depressed!!!) I bake some carrot cup cakes. They are easy and quick to make and most of the times you don't even need to step out of the house to buy some special ingredients. That's because all the ingredients are very common and can be found at home without special planning. The other good thing about this recipe is that it is healthier than other carrot cakes. I say "healthier" because there is no cake that is healthy as sugar (which ever you use: brown or white) makes it bad for you. But at least these cup cakes have olive oil fat base which is safer to use as it does not release so much toxins when heated. I hope you like it :b    

CARROT CUP CAKES (makes 12 cup cakes)


Ingredients: 3 medium size carrots (shredded)
                    150g cup brown sugar
                    2 eggs
                    120ml olive oil (you can try other types as long as it is not sunflower oil as the cakes with it taste like fried dinner!)
                    200g flour
                    55g or more nuts (in this case I used almonds and pecan nuts)
                    1tsp salt
                    1tsp cinnamon
                    1tsp baking powder

1. Very simple! Just mix all the ingredients together and divide them into cup cake cases. I used silicon cup cases therefore I did not need to use disposable paper cases (but you are welcome to use it if you want!)
2. Preheat the oven to the 170C and bake the cakes for around 30min until golden. Good way to check it is to stick toothpick inside and see if it comes out clean. If it comes out clean that means it is ready!
3. If you have extra time and willingness to satisfy your sweet-tooth properly then make a yogurt icing for the cup cakes. Mix 200g icing sugar  with 1tsp yogurt, 1/2tsp grated fresh lemon rind and 1/2tsp lemon juice. When the mixture is even (with no lumps) and the cup cakes are cooled then pour the icing over it. Enjoy!